Voters Debate Annex Issue

DELRAY BEACH — Bill King`s question was simple: If I`m going to become a resident of Delray Beach, what`s in it for me, he asked city officials Wednesday night.

``We got a big speech from the mayor about this big umbrella we all live under,`` King said at a debate over the three annexation referenda on Tuesday`s ballot. ``But what are you really offering us? What do you get besides paying the city more money?``

More than half of those who attended the debate -- the last scheduled before the Nov. 5 election -- had the same question. Voters will decide whether three parcels -- two on North Federal Highway, the other on the city`s western boundaries -- should be annexed into the city.

But residents and merchants in the two sections on North Federal Highway are resisting annexation. They simply don`t want to pay higher taxes. And they aren`t thrilled about the $1,245 fee required to hook up to the city`s water and sewer system if they`re annexed.

``What happens if you just plain don`t have the money,`` said Steve Wexel, a resident in one of the areas targeted for annexation. ``Three years from now, I`ll be able to pay the whole thing. But right now I just don`t have it.``

City officials said the extra cost will be well worth it. They promised increased fire and police protection, which they said will mean lower insurance rates. They offered higher quality drinking water and 24-hour utility service.

Many residents in the areas to be annexed drink from wells and use septic tanks. They receive fire protection from a county fire station west of two city stations. A fire truck from the county has to pass at least one of the city`s stations on its way to the county pockets on the city`s north end.

Delray Beach Police Sgt. Tom Stufano said the city`s Police Department could respond to an emergency in half the time it takes the county Sheriff`s Office.

Officials also noted that the bulk of the county`s governmental operations are based in West Palm Beach, 20 miles north of the city.

``I can assure you that as the county gets larger, your voice and your needs will grow small,`` Vice Mayor Marie Horenburger said. ``Local government will be the place you`ll have to turn to.``

``We all live in the same urban area known as Delray Beach,`` Mayor Doak Campbell said. ``The purpose of annexation is to provide good, efficient government within this urban community.``

City officials are desperate to close more than 100 county pockets. Currently, the dual referendum process is the only means to annex property when many owners do not support it. The process is called involuntary annexation.

The forum was staged by Citizen`s Against Political Annexation a group of merchants and residents from the two Federal Highway pockets who resent the involuntary annexation process. They say city officials never consulted them before the referenda were decided by the City Council.